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Middle of the story
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“For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.” Psalms 100:5
By Sophia Fleming
“Creativity can take on new forms of expression and human insight can produce fresh fruit with each new age, but none of us begin with a blank sheet of paper! We are in the middle of the story.” Excerpt from the story behind the song By Faith*.
How often do we come into a new job or a new relationship or a new situation and look at it as just that – “new” when in fact it is anything but new? How much differently would we handle ourselves and the situation if we realized that we are only in the middle of the story, things have happened before us that have shaped what we have come to and we need to not be arrogant and assume we are the be all and end all, there is more to come. Now, we need to respect and seek out what has happened and then ask ourselves, “How can we contribute to the future?”
The philosophy of being part of the middle of the story has been shaping our work in the mission field, personally. Too often Westerners come into countries like Kenya with the intention to “set them straight” with no knowledge or respect for the heritage and history of those they came to “serve.” When we go into the mission field to serve we need to realize that we are only part of the story that the Lord is writing in that area. We should, and do, feel privileged to be just that – only a part of the story. The end goal of all mission work should be to join God in what He has done and is doing, and celebrate with His people in what He will do, often when He has moved us onto another story board.
I believe this same philosophy also needs to transcend into all areas of ministry work and is yet another aspect of local autonomy. If we are updating our websites with study material, it should be to support other groups to grow in their story. If we are invited to speak as a guest speaker, we need to respect the group that we are speaking to and the heritage that brought them together, realizing that we may have an influence on the groups’ future, but we are not the end result of its existence. This is humbling, but true. We need to ask ourselves what gifting we have that God wants to use to help complete the story.
We also need to not assume that just because there is history that the end of the
Courtesy photo
story is at hand. God brought you into the story, at this time, for a reason. Are you contributing to the end of the story, or just waiting to see what will happen?
I have heard many discussing end times, and how it shouldn’t be long now until Jesus comes again. According to Global Frontier Missions**, “It is estimated that of the 7.75 billion people alive in the world today, 3.23 billion of them live
in unreached people groups with little or no access to the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.” Jesus was very clear in Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (emphasis added)
One of those 3.23 billion people may be your neighbor, the clerk at the store, or someone a 24-hour plane ride from your home. What middle of the story is God calling you to be in? n
*https://store.gettymusic.com/us/song/by-faith/ **www.globalfrontiermissions.org/gfm-101-missionsjcourse/ the-unreached-peoples-and-their-role-in-the-greatcommission
Sophia Fleming is the Administrator for the General Council Churches of God (Seventh Day), Inc. (www.ACTSforGod.org) She and her husband, Patrick, recently returned from their most recent mission trip to Kenya.
BIBLICALLY Responsible Investing Making investments match a faith lifestyle
By Doug Hanson
It was my favorite school lunch, and my mouth watered all morning during class when I knew my mother had carefully packed it for me in my sack lunch. It was important that she packed the contents in two separate baggies. In one baggie she packed freshly cut slices of tomato, while in the other she packed two slices of Wonder Bread with a light spreading of mayonnaise. The two separate baggies were important so that the juice of the tomato would not saturate the bread before lunch. At lunch, I would carefully construct the tomato sandwich and experience the delight of eating – albeit quickly before the sandwich became mushy!
Wonder Bread was the bread of choice in my childhood. A loaf of Wonder Bread came bleached white and thinly sliced in a plastic bag covered with colorful balloons that spoke of a life full of airy pleasure for a kid. In those days, we were less concerned about what was in the bread than we are today. Now we can buy multi-grain, sprouted wheat, rye, sourdough, gluten-free, artisan, pita, and a variety of other breads. Just as we have more choices in bread today, we have more choices in investing – including increased recognition of companies that represent values that are important to us. In Proverbs 11:3 we read, “The integrity of the upright guides them.” How our integrity plays out in our choice of bread may not be much of a concern, but how our integrity plays out in the financial blessings the Lord has entrusted to us should be a concern.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that, as Christians, “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I wonder how often we ponder the breadth of “good works” that God has planned for us. God has placed each of us within this time in history, with its accompanying economic context and opportunity, to make wise financial decisions. While we are on this Earth, we have a responsibility to manage God’s financial blessings in our lives with integrity.
Investing for “good works” suggests investing in companies that positively contribute to society – in ways that honor God with integrity. We live in a time in history where we have broad insight into companies. Is a company good to its employees, good to its suppliers, good to its customers, good to its community, and good to society at large? Do the products a company produces improve lives? Do the philanthropic initiatives of the company benefit lives? Biblically Responsible Investing answers those questions by seeking to align our investments with our biblical values.
Biblically Responsible Investing is a matter of Im-
pact: Scripture implores us in many ways to make a positive impact in the world, including doing good to those around us (Galatians 6:9) so that our Heavenly Father may be glorified (Matthew 5:16). It encourages us to refrain from activities that harm us and those around us (Galatians 5:19). Our investments can be a blessing to others (medical and technology advancements, for example), or our investments can support immoral activities (think pornography and abortion).
Biblically Responsible Investing is a matter of Op-
portunity: Two factors have led to increased opportunities today to invest for the glory of God. First, with the proliferation of technology, we have more insight into companies, understanding what they produce and how they produce it. Companies can be tracked and analyzed in more ways than before, allowing recognition of companies that make a positive impact in the world and those that make a negative impact. Second, we have more responsibility for investing for our future, especially for retirement, with the reduction of pension plans offered by companies and the rise of Individual Retirement Accounts which allow us to make decisions about what companies we want to invest in.
Biblically Responsible Investing is a matter of Wisdom: While we journey through life on this Earth, we are taught to be wise with the resources God has entrusted to us. This is evident in the parable of the talents where the master commended those servants who invested the resources delegated to them (Matthew 25:14-30). This teaches us that we should be investing for competitive returns, purposefully
Doug Hanson
seeking to grow our investments. However, Proverbs 3:9 cautions us to “Honor the Lord with our wealth,” which should cause us to place boundaries around what we choose to invest in while seeking growth.
Biblically Responsible Investing is a matter of Ini-
tiative: We have the opportunity today to invest for competitive returns while honoring God with our investments. It is tempting, however, to overlook this opportunity by maintaining the status quo and not taking steps towards Biblically Responsible Investing. It behooves each of us to consider what we value and whether those values are carried out in all aspects of our lives, including our investments. n
Doug Hanson is an investment advisor with Christian Wealth Management in Boise, providing biblically responsible investment advice to Christians. For more information, visit investforthegloryofgod.com or contact him at doug@christianwm.com or (208) 697-3699. The Sanctuary
Cowboy Church
NEW LOCATION: Sunday Service 10 AM
High Desert Station 6780 Willis Road, Star, ID 83669 208-329-8246
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The WayThe The WayThe †
An Assemblies of God Church 303 South Hawthorne
Middleton, ID 83644 208-412-8778
MiddletonChurch.com TerrysDevotions.com Meeting: Sundays @ 10:30 AM
Children’s Church for ages 10 & under A church of grace built on the uilt on the foundation of Jesus Christ
MERIDIAN
— Thessalonians 5:11NIV
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